But in my situation there was no work needed, just pick the color and style you like. I allowed 5k for the carpet and appliances which is what I ended up spending. Just go to the Home Store and say give me that refrigerator, that stove and this carpet. 2 weeks later it was installed by them. All the selection could be done while waiting for settlement and installed the day of or the next day. Instead they get my choices of model and color. I was offering a cash rebate at settlement to pay for these so they could have gone cheap and pocketed the difference or added a bit and upgraded. They had 2 inspections, 1 from the VA and 1 independent. I had to install a handrail on the basement stairs and put a block on the downstairs sliding door because it was a 10" step down to the ground and replace a tube spout because the shower diverter was not auto releasing when you turned the water off.Most people do not have the time or skills to put work into making a house liveable after purchase, nor do they necessarily have the money to spare.
And stop and think about why, because it's understandable. For a daily driver for work, you wouldn't be likely to buy a car that needed a new engine or transmission or other major work to get it running. You need the car now and don't want to spend crazy money to fix it so you can use it. By the same reasoning, people want to move into and enjoy a house without having to spend big bucks for repairs and appliances. There's a difference for potentially collectible cars that are basket cases or classic houses that need renovation, but buyers for those are the exception.
Also, if a house needs work, trying to sell it could run into inspection, potential housing code enforcement, and occupancy permit problems.
The need to be able to use something that was a big purchase is also why flippers succeed.
What I realized is that people are not looking for problems when they are house shopping. They are more focused on the small things that are easy to fix and ignore the elephant in the room. They will walk because they dont like the paint colors while ignoring the dehumidifier in the basement corner if the bath fixtures look nice.